South Korea Trains Computer Hackers to Protect Country Against Cyberattacks

The South Korean government has launched a program to train computer experts in defending the country’s systems against foreign and domestic cyberattacks.

Dubbed “Best of the Best,” the program is overseen by the Korea Information Technology Research Institute, CNN informs.

60 computer experts – many of whom are well known and already highly skilled – have been selected for the first phase of the program.

Currently, only 20 hackers are left in the competition but, in the end, only one from six fields will graduate. These fields are security consulting, mobile security, converged security, digital forensics, vulnerability analysis, and cloud security.

Besides a monetary prize of 20,000,000 KRW ($18,500 / 13,400 EUR), the graduates will be recommended to the companies or government agencies they want to work for.

Officials are concerned that hackers may breach the country’s critical infrastructures and cause considerable damage.

It wouldn’t be the first time when one of the most Internet-connected nations becomes the victim of a major cyberattack.